arh346: history of graphic design (and more)

Thursday, April 17, 2025

swiss typographic style (9 principles)

1- nothing left to add, nothing left to remove,

2- uniformity and geometry,

3- white space, let the text breath,

4- grid systems that are logical, meaningful and consistent,

5- structured information,

6- drop the serif,

8- font size for legibility, impact and rhythm,

9- photography, YES

the impactful design of Herb Lubalin (1950s)

Typography is the key in Herb Lubalin's design. "What I do is not really typography, which I think of as an essentially mechanical means of putting characters down on a page." Lubalin was a brilliant, iconoclastic advertising art director—in the 1940s with Reiss Advertising and then for twenty years with Sudler and Hennessey. Recipient of medal after medal, award after award, and in 1962 named Art Director of the Year by the National Society of Art Directors, he has also been a publication designer of great originality and distinction. He designed startling in the early 60s, intellectually and visually astringent Fact in the mid-60s, lush and luscious Avant Garde late in the same decade, and founded U & lc in 1973 and saw it flourish into the 80s But it is Lubalin and his typographics—words, letters, pieces of letters, additions to letters, connections and combinations, and virtuoso manipulation of letters—to which all must return. The "typographic impresario of our time," Dorfsman called him, a man who "profoundly influenced and changed our vision and perception of letter forms, words and language." (taken from AIGA).

what do we see here?

1- black & white printing on uncoated paper,
2- one or two typefaces
3- Lubalin payed a single artist to handle all illustrations, rather than dealing with multiple creators.
4- the result is a dynamic minimalism that emphasized the underlying sentiment of the magazine,
5- i.e., lubalin was a functionalist/conceptualist.

During the 1950's a design movement emerged from Switzerland and Germany that has been called Swiss Design or more appropriately, The International Typographic Style

Max Huber:

Mixed unframed flat photographic and typographic elements with strips of color to convey a certain feeling of dynamism and speed. He used recognizable elements in his design, without having them tell a story. His work concentrated on photographic experiments and clear type combined with the use of bold shapes and primary colors.

Anton Stankowski:

We already explored Stankowski in a post before, but he’s a school onto himself. His photographic and typographical work developed into a prototype for a contemporary advertising style, later called “constructive graphics.”

Eric Nitsche:

Josef Müller-Brockmann:

1- The formal organization of the surface by means of the grid, 2- knowledge of the rules that govern legibility (lines length, word and letter spacing and so on) and 3- the meaningful use of color. It all makes for a rational economic order.

Armin Hofmann:

image + positive negative (Neue Typographie) + typeface as movement

and,

The style is driven by communication. Hoffmann used photo-typesetting, photo-montage and experimental composition plus his heavily favored sans-serif typography.

Siegfried Odermatt:

and,

Rudolph DeHarak:

To understand de Harak's influence on graphic design during the Sixties it is necessary to know that the McGraw-Hill paperbacks were emblematic of that period. They were based on the most contemporary design systems, and were unique compared to other covers and jackets in the marketplace.

At this time the International Style and American Eclecticism were the two primary design methodologies at play in the United States. The former represented Bauhaus rationalism, the latter Sixties exuberance. De Harak negotiated both, simplicity and accessibility.

how graphic design presented jazz (1950-1960s)

oliver nelson's the blues and the abstract truth, 1959, for impulse

oliver nelson was a composer and arranger, the album above is considered his best and one of 1959's best albums. this is produced by impulse, already at a time when record companies felt it was better to have photos instead of illustration. jazz was mature and sophisticated enouch that it can withstand the postraits of the players.

jim flora design, pete jolly trio, RCA 1955

this is the early 1950s style with RCA album covers.

david stone master, charlie parker with strings, 1947-1952, mercurty records

david stone master, lionel hampton big band, clef records, 1954

paul chambers, bass on top, 1957 for blue note (blue note presented a unified design throughout, showing the sophistication of jazz through the realistic photos of the musicians

neil fujita, dave brubeck, time out, 1959, columbia

paul bacon,from a de chirico painting, for thelonius monk's misterioso, riverside, 1958

neil fujita,kind of blue, miles davis, 1959, columbia

a very cool sonny, resembling pitcher don newcomb a pitcher for LA Dodgers, blue note, 1957

h. p corbissero design for SUN RA, jazz in silhouette, for evidence, 1959

clifford brown ensemble, featuring zoot sims, 1955, for pacific jazz records, 1957

Alexander Lieberman, the VOGUE master (1950s-1960s)

Alexander Lieberman (1912-1999) was a russian-american publisher, painter, and sculptor. born in kiev, he was educated in paris, where he began his publishing career with the early pictorial magazine Vu.

After emigrating to NYork in 1941, he began working for Conde Nast Publications, rising to the position of editorial director, which he held from 1962-1994. liberman used photographers such as Penn, Beaton and Miller, contributing to a new look at Vogue. later he was appointed editorial director to all Conde Nast publications until his retirement.

See how graphic design turns into sculpture.

Is this the same Lieberman?

or this?

yes, it is.

The genius of Norman Rockwell

The irony is that Rockwell's work was dismissed by serious art critics in his lifetime.

Many of his works appear overly sweet in the opinion of modern critics, especially the Saturday Evening Post covers, which tend toward idealistic or sentimentalized portrayals of American life.

This has led to the often-deprecatory adjective, "Rockwellesque". I disagree.

So, what's Rockwell's importance?

1. His illustrations, especially those for The Saturday Evening Post, depicted scenes of everyday American life, from family gatherings to local events, creating a strong sense of familiarity and nostalgia.

2. A close-knit community, strong families, and a positive view of American values.

3. Rockwell's paintings evoked a strong emotional response in viewers, making them relatable and memorable.

4. His style and storytelling techniques influenced generations of illustrators, filmmakers, and artists, shaping the way visual media portray American life.

5. His paintings of the Four Freedoms during World War II were incredibly influential, inspiring a generation and visualizing American ideals. While initially known for his commercial success,

6. Rockwell is now recognized as a significant contributor to American visual culture, with art historians acknowledging his impact.

7. He was the designer anthropologist of his time.

BAUHAUS (the designer's angle)

Walter Gropius, Dessau Bauhaus Building, (1926)

clean lines,

air and sun,

modern aesthetics,

technology rules,

new materials: glass, steel, concrete,

Josef Albers, Homage to the Square (1965)

the square,

colors as symbols,

clean and crisp,

László Moholy-Nagy, Photogram (1926)

photography as technology,
black & white is a color,

Hannes Meyer, Konstruktion ca. 1927

Meyer's teaching manifesto applied to Bau: 1. sex life, 2. sleeping habits, 3. pets, 4. gardening, 5. personal hygiene, 6. weather protection, 7. hygiene in the home, 8. car maintenance, 9. cooking, 10. heating, 11. exposure to the sun, 12. services - these are the only motives when building a house. We examine the daily routine of everyone who lives in the house and this gives us the functional diagram - the functional diagram and the economic programme are the determining principles of the building project.